In several building construction situations it is desirable to suspend the floor support beams above the soil. Such may be the case where expansive soils which could cause future damage to ground level floor surfaces are present at the building site. One of the floor support systems commonly utilized by the construction industry to alleviate such problems is a structural floor arrangement.
In the structural floor arrangement, ledger beams are horizontally affixed above the soil level to the concrete foundation walls. A series of joist members running parallel to one another and perpendicular to the inner faces of the ledger beams are attached to the ledger beams. In order to transfer loads from the individual joist members to the supporting ledger beams, a mechanical connection is required. Historically, for light gauge steel framing members, a light gauge steel clip angle connector is screwed to both the ledger beam and the supported joist. As such, building contractors incur more than the cost of the ledger and joist members when utilizing the structural floor arrangement. Contractors must also include the price of the clip angle connector (roughly $1 per joist), associated screws (roughly 8.cent. per joist) and labor to install these items (roughly 52.cent. per joist) in their overall cost of production. When one considers the number of clip angle connectors and screws needed for each joist employed in a sizable number of construction projects, the extra associated costs are considerable.
What is needed in the art is an improved ledger beam which securely forms a load transferring connection to joist members. The present invention eliminates the need for employing clip angle connectors. The present invention incorporates a shear tab which is formed into the ledger beam parent material during production. The shear tab transfers joist loads to the ledger beam. The ledger beam, in turn, imparts the loads to the foundation wall via expansion bolts. This shear tab is similar in geometry to what the American Institute of Steel Construction in its Steel Construction Manual refers to as a single-plate shear connection. The shear tab protrudes away from the ledger beam and offers a surface by which the joist can be fixably attached to the ledger beam. This attachment is accomplished without the need for a separate piece of material welded or fastened to the ledger beam.
Listed below are samples of patents based in part on punching out a portion of a metal panel. These patents are merely representative of the art and do not suggest the teachings of the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,859 (1997) to Horton et al. discloses pre-punched passageways in a metal wall stud.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,221 (1992) to Slapsys discloses a clip used to suspend ceiling tees.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,390 (1992) to Felsen discloses a channel bottom 26 punched out of a rigid plate used in ceiling grid construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,849 (1990) to Platt discloses interlocking cross tees for ceilings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,967 (1990) to Morton discloses a steel deck stiffener having support tabs punched out of a horizontal support beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,681 (1989) to Platt discloses an interlocking cross tee for ceilings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,948 (1986) to Lustvee discloses a picket-fence construction in which beam 3 includes a punch tab 10 which is used for connecting with other beams FIGS. 2-3!. Also see FIG. 1 for the holes to secure beam 3 to a supporting structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,391 (1985) to Skrabis et al. discloses a wall panel having integral clips 31 which are used to connect the panel to other structures see FIGS. 1-6!.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,958 (1981) to Chalmers et al. discloses a horizontal siding panel system with vertical stringers. See FIGS. 1-2 for the punch tabs and the holes for securing the stringers 12 to the wall and panels 10.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,348 (1977) to McSweeney discloses a ceiling-support grid system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,192 (1974) to O'Konski discloses a method to level a horizontal brace through a hole in a vertical stud.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,601 (1974) to Kostecky discloses a metal wall framing system where certain panels have punch-out tabs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,662 (1974) to DeSchutter discloses a wall retainer where certain members have punch-out tabs.